Serving in Hard Places

Dania grew up in the Middle East in a family that followed Jesus despite poverty and intense persecution. Receiving an Operation Christmas Child shoebox gift showed Dania that the Lord is the Good Shepherd and that He knows the desires of our heart. Hear just how powerful these tangible gifts of God’s love can be and how one item in Dania’s shoebox changed the life of her family. Resources: Find an Operation Christmas Child Shoebox drop-off location near you!Build a Shoebox Online!Listen to “Victors Through the Cross” to hear how God captured the hearts of a military couple who attended Operation Heal Our Patriots. 

After his time serving in the United States Air Force, Jordan tried to fill the void he felt with everything the world had to offer—but nothing worked. In a special Veterans Day episode, hear how God captured the hearts of Jordan and his wife, Jaclyn, when they attended Operation Heal Our Patriots and how the Lord called them to their next mission.Resources:Learn more about Operation Heal Our Patriots.Get involved with U.S. Disaster Relief and U.S. Rebuild!Listen to “Serving in Hard Places” to hear directly from staff serving in conflict zones and regions with very few Christians. 

Hear directly from staff serving in hard places around the world, like conflict zones and regions with very few Christians. This calling is not glamorous or easy, and they may not reap worldly rewards, but it's worth it. With God’s help, we can endure—even in hard circumstances. He gives us the strength to press on and to run the race. Resources:Listen to “Going After the One: Cambodia Cataract Mission” to hear how God did “exceedingly abundantly above” what the cataract team imagined (Ephesians 3:20).

Jesus left the 99 to go after the one. Samaritan's Purse cataract mission teams strive to emulate this as they perform hundreds of eye surgeries over the course of a few days. Our teams never lose sight of the one that God has placed in their path. They rejoice over the opportunity to minister and love someone the way Jesus loves them. The program manager, Bethany Densham, shares about witnessing hundreds of patients come to Christ in Cambodia. Resources:Serve with one of our cataract surgical teams. Learn more about our cleft lip and palate surgical teams.In “God Uses a Surrendered Heart to Heal Another,” hear how God used a family to heal not one heart, but two, through Children’s Heart Project.

Dara's life hung in the balance. The Bolivian 6-year-old desperately needed heart surgery. Hear how her and her grandmother, Judi, visited the United States and God used a family to heal not one heart, but two, through Children’s Heart Project.Resources:Learn more about Children’s Heart Project!Hear Part 1 of baby Deo’s miracle story.Listen to “Finding True Rest in Christ” to hear what the Bible says about rest and how we can rest in the Lord. 

We are a restless society. We seek after things in this world that we think will give us rest, but our true rest is in Jesus. Kristy sits down with Jeremy Zerkle, a staff chaplain at Samaritan’s Purse, to discuss what the Bible says about rest, and how we can rest in the Lord. Resources:Listen to “Not Ashamed of the Gospel” to hear from Enrico Lange, who grew up in communist East Germany.  

Growing up in East Germany was never easy for Enrico. Under the communist regime, it was a place with immense spiritual darkness. But the Lord softened Enrico’s heart little by little, revealing his need for a Savior and leading him to Christ. Now a staff member of Samaritan’s Purse Germany, Enrico’s most treasured possession is the Gospel—he can’t help but share it.Resources:Hear from Marina, another Samaritan’s Purse Germany staff member, about how the Lord is at work in a dark place. 

We’re taking you on the ground to West Virginia, where patients received brand-new eyeglasses, compassionate medical and dental care, and most importantly, the hope of Jesus at a Samaritan’s Purse Community Medical Outreach clinic. Hear how this blessed patients, as they were given eyes to see Christ.Resources:Serve at a Community Medical Outreach clinic!Listen to “The Body of Christ in Action” to hear what Kristy witnessed on the ground at a Community Medical Outreach clinic in Burnsville, NC. 

Service has the ability to radically change us. God can use serving others to mold and shape our hearts to look more like His. This is what happened in Angie’s life—a volunteer Kristy met while on the ground in Mississippi. Hear how the Lord is using Angie’s testimony to show others that they are never too far from Him.Resources:Step out and serve with U.S. Disaster Relief!Listen to “Stories From the Field: Planting Seeds After Disaster” to hear stories of divine appointments from recent U.S. Disaster Relief responses. 

As believers, we do not remember Sept. 11, 2001, without hope. In remembering the tragic events of Sept. 11, 2001, Kristy and her husband, Edward Graham, talk about how even in hard times—with the Lord's help—we can be fruitful in affliction. Resources:Listen to “Remembering 9/11: A Conversation with Preston Parrish” to hear what it was like being at Ground Zero just days after 9/11, ministering to those hurting.